Yesterday was a sad day for many Stampin' Up! demonstrators, due to the sudden death of one of our friends. Her passing was a shock to all of us and because of the pandemic most of us were unable to attend her funeral and offer our condolences to her family.
Ilona person was very special to me, but not because I knew her well. When I moved to the Netherlands I immediately reached out to Stampin' Up! demonstrators for friendship and support as I know from my many years of living in the US and Canada that joining Stampin' Up! is like being welcomed into this huge creative family. And sure enough the demonstrators in the Netherlands didn't disappoint. I found myself going to Illona's house within the first year of moving here, to attend a team meeting she was holding.
Although there was a language issue, I felt immediately welcomed and comfortable and had a fabulous time at her event. Ilona was like that. Calm, funny, caring and oh, so creative. She was well loved (as you can see) and was happy to share her creativity at Stampin' Up! regional events. I always sought her out at these events, to trade sample card and project ideas; I knew I would come home with a gem of an idea from her creative mastermind.
One of her Stampin' Up! team members, and very close friend of Ilona, suggested a card posting on our private Facebook group to honor Ilona on the day of her funeral. I think this is a wonderful tribute to a very special person, don't you?
For my card I chose the Art Gallery bundle:
The large flower image in this set is perfect for the two-step stamping technique (leave me a comment if you want to learn this technique). I chose Flirty Flamingo and Poppy Parade for flower.
The Art Gallery bundle has a matching designer paper pack, called: Fine Art Floral. I chose the patterned side of one of the floral papers for a background layer:
I spent of bit of time thinking about what to use for a phrase. I finally decided to use 'I'm thinking of you', because I am. Here's my card that I posted as a tribute to Ilona:
It is always a sad moment to have to create a sympathy card for a special person. Somehow creating this card helps to take a bit of the sadness away.
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